Ethnobotanical Garden      
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Common Name Latin Name T H x W Uses
         
Antelope Bitterbrush Purshia tridentata S 5' x 5' Seed coat used to make purple dye, bark used for diaper and padding, limbs used to make arrows
Apache Plume Fallugia paradoxa T 4' x 4' Used for a hair preparation
Arizona Popcornflower Plagiobothrys arizonicus P 16"x16" Leaves used to make red dye
Arroyo Willow Salix lasiolepis T 15' x 20' Bark used in basketry, leaved stems used for graneries, limbs used in building and to form wattles, bark used for cordage
Arrowweed Pluchea sericea S 5' x 1' Used to make arrow shafts, conical houses, and had medicinal uses
Banana Yucca Yucca baccata Y 4' x 4' Flowers, roots, and stems eaten, cordage
Basket Rush Juncus textilis R To 5' Important material in basketry
Bastard Sage Eriogonum wrightii P 2' x 2' Seeds ground into flour
Beavertail Cactus Opuntia basilaris C 2' x 2' Fruit eaten fresh or dried for later use, seeds ground into mush, buds cooked and eaten, joints boiled and eaten as greens
Big Berry Manzanita Arctostaphylos glauca S 10' x 6' Mashed fruit mixed with water for a drink, berries eaten fresh, dried and stored, ground into mush, eaten fresh, dried and stored, ground into mush, branches used to make brooms
Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus montanus S 12' x 4' Branches used to make digging sticks, awls, and tools requiring hard wood
Bird's-foot Cliffbrake Pellaea mucronata S 1' x 1' Fronds used to make tea
Black Sage Salvia mellifera S 1' x 1' Seeds used for food
Blind Prickly Pear Opuntia rufida CS 5' X 5' Fruits and pads eaten
Blue Elderberry Sambucus nigra S 12' x 12' Berries eaten raw or dried for later use, stems and bark used to make four colors of dye for basketry, stems used to make arrows and musical instruments, medicinal value
Bluedicks Dichelostemma capitatum P 6" Bulb eaten raw or baked, seeds popped like popcorn and eaten, flower eaten
Blue Palo Verde Cercidium floridum T 12' x 15' Dried beans ground into flour and used to make mush or cakes
Brewer's Salt Bush Atriplex lentiformis S 7' x 7' All parts of plant are edible but salty
Brittle Bush Encelia farinosa S 3' x 3' Leaves used for ceremonial saging and for gifting
Broadleaf Cattail Typha latifolia P To 9' Roots and young shoots eaten raw, roots dried and ground into a meal, pollen used to  make cakes and mush, stems peeled and eaten, roots and inner stalks baked in ashes and eaten, leaves used for matting and thatching, stalks used in making ceremonial bundles.
Buck Brush Ceanothus cuneatus S 8' x 10' Used to add fragrance to soap and shampoo, leaves and flowers made onto tea
California Barrel Cactus Ferocactus acanthodes C 6' Flowers boiled and eaten, pulp made into candy, survival water source, spines used for needles, awls, tattooing, and land navigation (Cactus always leans southward towards sun)
California Blackberry Rubus ursinus S 3' x 9' Fruit eaten raw or cooked, dried for later use, tea made from leaves or young shoots, half ripe fruits soaked in water for drink, blue dye obtained from fruit
California Black Oak Quercus kelloggii T 25' x 25' Acorns ground to make soup and flour for unleavened bread
California Fan Palm Washingtonia filifera T 60' x 10' Fruit soaked in water to make a drink, fruit eaten fresh, dried for later use to be ground into mush, made into jelly, fronds used for thatching
California Fremontia Fremontodendron californicum T 12' x 15' Bark used for cordage for tying acorn graineries, making netting, etc., wood used to make cradle boards
California Goosefoot Chenopodium californicum P 1' x 3" Leaves eaten like spinach (should only be eaten in small quantities due to toxic saponins), parched seeds ground into flour, milky sap used to make gum, leaves used to poison fish, seeds ground to make breads, plant used to make green and gold dyes, roots used to make detergent
California Juniper Juniperus californica T 20' x 20' Berries used as a famine food, branches used to make bows
California Laurel Umbellularia californica T 40' x 20' Tea from roots, as a bay substitute in flavoring
California Lilac Ceanothus greggii vestitus S 6' x 6' Used to add fragrance to soap and shampoo, leaves and flowers made onto tea
California Milkweed Asclepias californica S 3' x 3' Milky juice boiled until thick and chewed like chewing gum
California Wild Rose Rosa californica S 9' x 3' Tea from hips, hips (fruit) eaten raw  or cooked, blossoms soaked in water for a beverage, hips strung for necklaces, stems used in basketry
Canyon Live Oak Quercus chrysolepis T 30' x 25' Acorns ground to make soup and flour for unleavened bread
Catclaw Acacia Acacia greggii T 15' x 20'

Dried pods and seeds ground into flour for mush or cakes.  Branches used for baskets.  Medicinal.
Chamise Adenostoma fasciculatum S 6' x 6' Wood used for bows and arrows, gum used to attach arrowheads and feathers to shaft
Chia Salvia columbariae S 2' Seeds eaten raw, ground into flour to make mush or cakes, seeds eaten on long journeys, seeds mixed with water
Coast Live Oak Quercus agrifolia T 20' x 40' Acorns ground to make soup and flour for unleavened bread
Coffeyberry Rhamnus californica S 5' X 10' Fruit eaten
Coulter Pine Pinus coulteri T 40' x 20' Nuts eaten raw or baked, long needles used to make pine needle baskets
Cow's Tongue Prickly Pear Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis C 4' x 4' Fruits and pads eaten
Cucamonga Manroot Marah macrocarpus P To 20' Red dye and soap made from roots
Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus ledifolius T 12' x 12' Wood used to make tools and weapons, bark used as tea flavor, medicinal uses
Deergrass Muhlenbergia rigens P 3' x 4' Stalks used as the foundation in coiled baskets
Deerweed Lotus scoparius P 3' x 3' Roots used for soap
Desert Agave Agave deserti P 3' x 3'

Fiber for bowstrings, brushes, cradles, nets, slings, shoes, skirts, mats, rope, thread, baskets, and snares.  Fresh root used as soap and shampoo.  All parts of plant eaten.  Sap consumed as a fresh drink or fermented into pulque.
Desert Almond Prunus fasciculata S 3' x 3' Fruit eaten, wood used to make arrow fore shafts, dye made from leaves
Desert Apricot Prunus fremontii T 15' x 10' Fruit considered a great delicacy, important food and a highly prized food source.
Desert Bitterbrush Purshia glandulosa S 5' x 6' 1" yellow rose-like flowers in spring
Desert Dandelion Malacothrix californica A To 16" Seeds used for food
Desert False Indigo Amphora fruticosa S 10' x 10' Seeds ground into flour
Desert Holly Atriplex hymenelytra S 3' x 3' Flowers used in shampoo
Desert Ironwood Olneya tesota T 25' x 25' Seeds (peanuty taste) and pods ground into flour, extremely hard wood used for digging sticks, extremely hard wood used for making clubs and throwing sticks for weaponry
Desert Lily Hesperocallis undulata P To 1' Bulb eaten raw or cooked (slight garlic taste)
Desert Mariposa Lily Calochortus kennedyi P To 8" Bulbs roasted and eaten
Desert Spoon Dasylirion wheeleri Y 5' x 4' Roasted and eaten like artichokes, used to make liquor, mats, rope, made into cakes
Desert Willow Chilopsis linearis T 12' x 15' Bow stays, seed pods and flowers used for food
Elegant Tarweed Madia elegans A 3' Seeds eaten raw or cooked
Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus Echinocereus engelmannii C 2' x 2' Fruits eaten
Fishhook Barrel Cactus Ferocactus cylindraceus C 4' x 1' Flowers eaten, poor source of water in emergency, seeds used to make cactus candy
Fremont's Cottonwood Populus fremontii T 50' x 50' Inner barks eaten, dried inner bark used with flint to start fires, wood used for mortars
Fourwing Saltbush Atriplex canescens S 5' x 5' Leaves used as soap, all parts of plant are edible
Gambel Oak Quercus gambelii T 30' x 30' Acorns ground to make soup and flour for unleavened bread
Giant Century Plant Agave franzosinii Y 8' x 10'

Fiber for bowstrings, brushes, cradles, nets, slings, shoes, skirts, mats, rope, thread, baskets, and snares.  Fresh root used as soap and shampoo.  All parts of plant eaten.  Sap consumed as a fresh drink or fermented into pulque.
Giant Sacaton Grass Sporobolus wrightii P 6' x 6' Basketry
Giant Wild Rye Leymus condensatus P 6' Basketry, seeds eaten
Globe Gilia Gilia capitata A 2' x 2' Seeds used for food
Golden Currant Ribes aureum V 10' x 10' Yellow, tubular showy flowers, borne in spring, hanging clusters several inches long, clove-like fragrance
Golden Stars Bloomeria crocea P 2' Bulbs eaten, bulbs ground into paste to close holes in seed gathering baskets
Golden Yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum P 2' x 2' Seeds ground into flour
Great Basin Sage Artemisia tridentata S 4' x 4' Seeds roasted, ground into flour and eaten with water, ceremonial uses (included in sage bundle)
Grizzly Bear Pricklypear Opuntia erinacea CS 1' x 3' Fruit eaten
Hairawn Muhly Muhlenbergia capillaris P 3' x 4' Basketry
Hairy-leaf Ceanothus Ceanothus oliganthus oliganthus S 6' x 6' Flowers used to make soap and shampoo
Hairy Yerba Santa Eriodictyon trichocalyx S 6' x 6' Leaves used as tea or chewed raw to quench thirst, numerous medicinal uses
Hollyleaf Cherry Prunus ilicifolia T 8' x 8' Fruits eaten raw, meat of seed leached, ground and baked to make pinole
Honey Mesquite Prosopis glandulosa T 20' x 20' Blossoms used to make tea, pods crushed into sweet pulpy juice, dried pods ground into meal to make mush and cakes, pods eaten raw, roasted blossoms boiled and eaten, bark pounded to make soft cloth for diapers, clothing, netting for pottery, and cordage, gum used as adhesive to make arrows, wood used to make bows
Howard McMinn Manzanita Arctostaphylos densiflora S 8' x 12' Mashed fruit mixed with water for a drink, berries eaten fresh, dried and stored, ground into mush, eaten fresh, dried and stored, ground into mush
Incense Cedar Calocedrus decurrens T 40' x 20' Religious, flavor acorn mush, roots and bark used in basketry, medicinal
Indian Ricegrass Oryzopsis hymenoides P 2' x 1' Important flour grain
Interior Live Oak Quercus wislizenii T 10' x 20' Acorns ground to make soup and flour for unleavened bread
Jeffrey Pine Pinus jeffreyi T 40' x 20' Nuts eaten raw or baked, crystallized sap eaten as candy
Jojoba Simmondsia chinensis S 8' x 8' Ground nuts made into coffee-like drink, nut eaten
Joshua Tree Yucca brevifolia T 15' x 8' Immature fruits and pods used for food, roots used to make dye and in basketry
Leather Root Hoita macrostachya P 3" Thread and rope made from roots as is a yellow dye, root eaten raw, cooked, or dried for later use
Lemonade Berry Rhus integrifolia S 8' x 15' Berries soaked in water for lemonade tasting drink, berries eaten raw or cooked, roasted berries used for coffee-like drink, leaves used to make brown dye
Lewis Flax Linum lewisii P 3' x 3' Seeds roasted, ground, and eaten
Limber Pine Pinus flexilis T 30' x 20' Nuts eaten raw or baked, used in basketry
Littleleaf Mock Orange Philadelphus microphyllus S 1' x 1' Fruit eaten, leaves and flowers used as soap
Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus intricatus T 6' x 6' Branches used to make digging sticks, awls, and tools requiring hard wood
Littleleaf Sumac Rhus microphylla S 8' x 6' Lemonade like drink made from berries
Mexican Cliffrose Purshia mexicana S 8' x 5' Bark used for padding and cordage, stems used to make arrows and prayer sticks, numerous medicinal uses
Miner's Lettuce Claytonia perfoliata A To 1' Leaves eaten raw or as greens
Mojave Prickly Pear Opuntia phaeacantha C 3' x 6' Fruits and pads eaten
Mojave Yucca Yucca schidigera S 5' x 4' Unopened flowers boiled and eaten; open flowers eaten raw or cooked stem eaten raw or pit baked, dried leaved pounded into cloth or material for making sandals, leaves and root stock used in basketry
Mormon Tea Ephedra trifurca or E. viridus S 4' x 6' Leafless needles boiled into tea, seeds eaten
Mountain Desert Sage Salvia pachyphylla S 2' x 2' Ceremonial
Mountain Mahogany Cercocarpus belutoides T 12' x 4' Branches used to make digging sticks, awls, dice, and tools requiring hard wood, reddish brown dye made from bark
Mugwort Artemesia douglsiana P 3' Seeds used for food, medicinal: rub leaves on spot after exposure to poison oak or stinging nettle
Narrowleaf Milkweed Asclepias fascicularis P 3' x 1' Adhesive
Nevada Jointfir Ephedra nevadensis P 5' x 5' Leafless needles boiled into tea, seeds eaten
Nodding Needlegrass Nassella cernua or Stipa cernua P 2' x 3' Basketry, seeds eaten
Ocotillo Fouquiera splendens S 12' x 8' Fresh blossoms eaten, parched seed ground into flour to make mush or cake, fresh blossoms soaked in water to make summer drink
Our Lord's Candle Yucca Yucca whipplei S 3' x 4' Unopened flowers boiled and eaten; open flowers eaten raw or cooked stem eaten raw or pit baked Dried leaved pounded into cloth or material for making sandals Leaves and root stock used in basketry
Pancake Prickly Pear Opuntia chlorotica C 3' x 3' Fruits and pads eaten
Parry Pinon Pine Pinus quadrifolia T 30' x 12' Nuts eaten raw or baked, pitch used to waterproof baskets, repair pottery, attach arrowheads and fletching, as chewing gum
Pointleaf Manzanita Arctostaphylos pungens S 6' x 6' Refreshing drink made from berries
Ponderosa Pine Pinus ponderosa T 90' x 30' Nuts eaten raw or baked
Prickly Pear Cactus Opuntia engelmannii C 3' x 3' Fruits and pads eaten
Purple Threeawn Aristida purpurea P 3' x 3' Basketry
Quadricolor Century Plant Agave lophantha CS 1' x 1' Used to make rope and cloth, rosettes baked
Red Barberry Berberis haematocarpa S 6' x 8' Slightly acidy berries eaten raw, used to flavor soups
Redberry Rhamnus crocea T 12' x 9' Berries eaten
Red Maids Calandrinia ciliata A 1' x 1' Oily seeds eaten raw or cooked, sometimes ground, leaves used as greens
Redosier Dogwood Cornus sericea T/S 10' x 15' Red dye from bark, cordage made from bark, branches used in basketry, powdered bark used for tooth powder
Redshank Adenostoma sparsifolium S 5' x 6' Seeds eaten, wood used to make arrowheads, barks used to make clothes
Redspined Fishhook Cactus Sclerocactus polyancistrus C 1' x 1' Fruits eaten
Red Thistle Cirsium proteanum or occidentale P 6' x 1' Flower eaten
Sacahuista Nolina microcarpa  Y 6' x 8' Basketry
Saguaro Carnegiea gigantea CS to 50' Fruit eaten, fermented
Screwbean Mesquite Prosopis pubescens T 15' x 15' Beans ground into pinole, medicinal, bark used for basketry, cloth, and rope, wood used for firewood and making tools, gum used for glues and paint, catkins eaten
Scrub Live Oak Quercus turbinella T 6' x 6' Acorns ground to make soup and flour for unleavened bread
Silver Buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea S 12' x 12' Dioecious, silvery buds, orange-red fruit
Singleleaf Pinon Pine Pinus monophylla T 30' x 20' Nuts eaten raw or baked, pitch used to waterproof baskets, repair pottery, attach arrowheads and fletching, as chewing gum
Skunkbush Sumac Rhus trilobata P 5' x 5' Branches used for cradles, fishing tools, and baskets.  Leaves mixed with tobacco and smoked.  Berries used to make beverages.  Berries mixed with cornmeal to make porridge.  Plant used to make dye.  Medicinal.
Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus S 8' x 8' Fruit was eaten fresh but was not favored by Native Americans. The fruits were also dried for winter use and used on hair as soap
Soapweed Yucca Yucca glauca YA 3' x 3' Both the fruiting portion and flower stalks are consumed, and various plant parts are processed for medicinal uses. Soapweed yucca is also used to produce items such as paper, rope, baskets, brushes, soaps, dyes, poison for arrows, and sticks for fire.
Soft Rush Juncus effusus G 3' Basketry
Southern California Grape Vitis girdiana P 9' x 30' Grapes eaten raw or cooked, grapes cooked in stews, dried into raisins, made into wine, young tendrils eaten
Southern Honeysuckle Lonicera subspicata denudata S 8' Fruit eaten
Spiny Hopsage Grayia spinosa S 2' x 2' Seeds ground into flour to make pinole
Sugar bush Rhus ovata S 12' x 15' Lemonade like drink made from berries, tea made from leaves, sap used as sugar, medicinal uses
Summer Holly Comarostaphylis diversifolia T 18' x 15' Berries eaten
Sundrops Calylophus hartwegii v. fendleri P 1' x 2' Medicinal
Sunflower Helianthus annuus A To 10' Seed use as food
Teddybear Cholla Opuntia bigelovii C 4' x 4' Fruit and buds eaten
Torry Mesquite
Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana
T
10' x 25'
Beans ground into pinole, medicinal, bark used for basketry, cloth, and rope, wood used for firewood and making tools, gum used for glues and paint
Toyon Heteromeles arbutifolia Y 8' x 5' Fruit eaten
Tree Poppy Dendromecon rigida S 8' x 6' Seeds used for food
Turpentinebush Ericameria laricifolia S 6' x 8' Slightly acidy berries eaten raw, used to flavor soups
Upright Prairie Coneflower Ratibida columnifera P 3' x 2' Tea made from leaves
Utah Service Berry Amelanchier utahensis S 15' x 15' Berries eaten raw or cooked, berries dried for later use, limbs used in basketry and in making bows
Velvet Mesquite Prosopis velutina T 15' x 15' Blossoms used to make tea, pods crushed into sweet pulpy juice, dried pods ground into meal to make mush and cakes, pods eaten raw, roasted blossoms boiled and eaten, bark pounded to make soft cloth for diapers, clothing, netting for pottery, and cordage, gum used as adhesive to make arrows, wood used to make bows
Utah Service Berry Amelanchier utahensis S 15' x 15' Berries eaten raw or cooked, berries dried for later use, limbs used in basketry
Waterjacket Lycium andersonii S 3' x 18" Berries eaten
Wavyleaf Soap Plant Chlorogalum pomeridianum P to 3' Bulb used to make soap and glue, dried bulb used as hair brush, leaves and bulb cooked and eaten, saponins function as antiseptic wash for dandruff, lice, and sores, used as a fishing poison
Western Chokecherry Prunus virginiana T 30' x 30' Fruit eaten raw or cooked, dried fruit ground and used in gruel and to make sauce, green dye from leaves, tea from leaves and bark, purple dye from fruit
Western Hackberry Celtis occidentalis T 45' x 50' Dry berries ground for food
Western Redbud Cercis occidentalis T 10' x 20' Roots used in basketry
Western Soapberry Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii T 40' x 20' Soap made from berries, wood used in basketry
Western Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus S 6' x 6' Fruit eaten raw or cooked, dried for later use, soap made from boiled bark
Whitebark Raspberry Rubus leucodermis P 3' x 3' Fruit eaten raw or cooked, dried for later use, tea made from leaves or young shoots, half ripe fruits soaked in water for drink, blue dye obtained from fruit
White Fir Abies concolor T 30' x 12' Branches used to line acorn caches
White Sage Salvia apiana S 3' x 3' Leaves burned for saging
Woodland Strawberry Frageria vesca ssp. californica P 6" x 9' Berries eaten raw, dried for later use, tea made from leaves
Wooly Indian Paintbrush Castilleja foliolosa P 3' x 3' Children sucked on flowers for nectar
Wooly Milkweeed Asclepias eriocarpa P 3' x 3' Stem fiber made into twine and used to make front aprons worn by women, stem fiber or decayed stem fiber used to make twine for fish nets, network carrying sacks, bow strings, and slings
Yellow Bush Snapdragon Keckiella antirrhinoides P 6' x 3' Children sucked flowers for nectar